Helix's Dual Mattress Topper Is Made for Partners Who Can't Agree
If you and your partner have different sleeping styles and debate over how soft or firm a mattress should be, the answer is this split topper. Photograph: Helix; Getty Images
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My husband puts up with a lot of crap with my job. I mean that literally: I get an average of 10 packages a week, sometimes surpassing that number in a single day. He's happy to not only help carry those packages—whether they're a cute little blow-dry brush or a massive mattress topper—up to our third-floor office and trip over them until I finally unbox everything, but he also helps move our mattress every month, learns a new door code for the latest smart lock I've installed, and flips the fuse box for me when I'm setting up a smart thermostat. He's a hot sleeper who hates a large portion of the sheets I test and refuses to change his incredibly old, flat pillow when there are more than a dozen better options I could recommend to him.
That's all to say that it feels like an exciting day when I can bring home something that's actually made for him and our needs versus just something I'm testing for the good of the WIRED reader. That something is the Helix Dual Comfort Mattress Topper.
The name should give away what's so great about it. The Dual Comfort is named for the two halves of the topper, one being firmer and one being softer. It's perfect for my husband and me, since I'm an achy side sleeper who needs something soft, and he's a back sleeper who would happily sleep on the floor if it didn't mean losing access to the comforter. If you have a partner with a different sleep style than you that leaves you both looking for a different softness of mattress, this Helix topper is the solution. Split Review
The Dual Comfort mattress topper is like two mattress toppers rolled into one. It has a soft side, designed for pressure relief, and a firmer side, better for spine alignment and support. It's easy to tell the two sides apart by the clear feel, with the firm side's dense sensation easy to differentiate from the softer, squishier side. You can also see a slight color difference between the two halves, with the softer blue side easy to see through the hexagon-printed cooling cover.
That easy visual makes the Dual Comfort easy to set up correctly on your bed even before you can test it out, letting you put the correct level of softness on the right partner's side of the bed. The topper can be placed in either direction on your bed, so you don't have to worry about needing to sleep on a certain side of the bed to get your preferred firmness. The Dual Comfort also has securing straps to help fit it into place and keep the topper from moving around on your bed, and comes in queen, king, and California king size.
The soft side uses memory foam infused with copper gel, promising pressure relief, and a cloudlike feel when you lie down. This side is on my side of the bed, since I'm a side sleeper suffering from both back and pressure pain. The mattress topper is soft enough to alleviate the shoulder pain I can get since I sleep on a super-firm mattress, but not so soft that my back pain acts up. It doesn't give me total pressure relief, though I've often found that to be the case with memory foam in general. Still, I liked this topper much more than any other memory foam one I've tried, and there are plenty of folks out there who love memory foam.
Meanwhile, the firmer side uses high-density foam that doesn't offer as much sinkage or spring as you'd get from memory or softer latex foam. My husband is primarily a back sleeper, and he's loved this mattress topper ever since we unboxed it. He loves it both because of the comfort it offers him as a firm sleeping surface, and that it's made for both of us. A Need Met
Sleep is a funny thing. We should be spending at least eight hours in our bed every night, making it one of the most important places to invest in quality pieces. But when you're married, it stops being about just your sleep needs, but both of yours. With different sleepers, whether that's side and back sleepers like at my house or a hot, sweaty sleeper versus a perpetually cold sleeper, it can be tricky to nail the bedding both parties need to get a good night's sleep. This topper is like getting a split king without needing to replace your entire mattress, and it gives an option for folks who prefer a queen-size mattress (or can only fit a queen in their bedroom).
I'm not alone in not matching my sleep position with my partner. 'Most couples do not share the same sleeping position,' says Leah Kaylor, a psychologist and author specializing in sleep. 'About 60 percent of couples prefer different sleeping positions and therefore will prefer different mattresses and pillows.' She says mattresses with adjustable firmness, like a split king, can solve this, but the Dual Topper can do something similar, offering a specific feel based on your preference. It's not as customized as a split king, of course, and you'll need to make sure you have a supportive mattress underneath the Dual Topper, especially if you battle any kind of back pain.
While I'm still not a huge memory foam fan, Helix's topper has made me a bigger fan. For any couples who have two different kinds of sleepers, both my husband and I can't recommend trying this topper enough. And good news: It's got a 100-night sleep trial, so you can always return it if it doesn't suit your needs. But I'm pretty sure it will if you're anything like us.
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